Andrea McAlpine

Biography

Andrea McAlpine was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She currently resides in Mesa, AZ with her two teenagers (Kenidee, 19 yrs old and Peyton, 15 yrs old).

While living in Reno, NV between 2006 and 2012, Andrea came up with the idea for her first novel...'I was driving to work, listening to a song by one of my favorite artists, Heather Combs, when the idea came to me. The song dealt with letting go of the one you love, being more invested in a relationship than the one you're with, and doing things in the name of love that you wouldn't normally do. I had so many questions about this "couple" and I just HAD to write their story. It sounded so close to many of my own relationships and those of my friends.'

Over the years, Andrea has won a handful awards for her writing and was featured in the Who's Who of American Writers publication. She grew up as a child with an over-active imagination and an often too-large for life love of writing and reading. She credits her late grandfather, Donald Zeeff, and her mother, Jana McAlpine, for exciting this passion of writing in her and allowing her to explore her imagination and talent freely as a child.

For now, Andrea is enjoying her time with her kids, working as an Office Manager in Mesa, AZ, and writing a new book that she hopes to put out in Spring 2017. She'd love for you to follow her on Facebook, where she regularly gives away free copies of this book.

Smashwords Interview

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?

I grew up mostly in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My sister and I spent a ton of time at our grandparents' house, which was out in the country (Hudsonville, Michigan). We grew up barefoot and running free. We played in the creek, rolled down steep grassy hills, played with our cousins who all lived close by, ran through corn fields, and knew all sorts of stuff a kid shouldn't know about livestock.

I tend to write fictional romance novels with a lot of history, or past, in them. My grandfather loved old music, read a lot, talked to us about the past, watched old black & white movies with me, etc. His love of all of those things helped peak my interest in them as well. Combined with my childhood/upbringing and his love for everything in the past, I am the writer I am today. I am forever grateful to my mother, my grandfather, sister, and cousins for giving me the greatest memories.

Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?

Romeo and Juliet. I was five years old. I fell in love instantly.

The idea that someone could capture so much emotion and depth with words, create such vivid imagery and scenes with a few lines...I was smitten by ol' Willy Shakespeare. While I didn't grow up wanting to write like him or be like him, I did grow up with a heightened sense of who I was going to be and where I wanted my life and my writing to go. After Romeo and Juliet, I couldn't keep my hands off from a book and with age, my addiction to read and write just seems to get worse. And that's ok by me.

Where to find Andrea McAlpine online

Videos

The song behind my book-There's NO Crying Allowed in Life

While I was driving to work one day, I was listening to one of my favorite musicians...Heather Combs. I was so inspired by her song, Fly. It spoke about letting go of the one you love, about being more invested in the relationship than the other person, about doing things that you wouldn't normally do in the name of love and how fast life changes and love changes. I decided then and there that I just HAD to write "this couples" story. Please enjoy this song...my muse.

What if you had to make a decision that would affect your life and the life of the one you love?After marrying her high school sweetheart and bearing his children,Laci,soon discovers that letting go is sometimes the best remedy for a situation.Through unfathomable events and the loss of herself,she learns to move on.Will it be enough?Will she find the happiness she has always been searching for?